Ukraine's Future Leader Vows Nation Will Be 'No Somalia'

Ukrainian's President Elect Petro Poroshenko, speaks to the media during a press conference on May 26, 2014 in Kiev, Ukraine.

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UkraineUprising'sMostViolentDays:Photos

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Protesters build a barricade early in the morning of Feb. 21, 2014 on Kiev's main square, Independence Square. Efforts to gain a ceasefire between the protesters and Ukrainian government forces had not yet borne fruit, and violence was raging.
Look back at the horrifying scenes of revolution that gripped Kiev these past few days.
Ukraine Uprising's Most Violent Days: Photos

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Protesters shout at a barricade on Thursday at Independence Square in Kiev.

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An anti-government demonstrator wears flowers in her helmet in Kiev.

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Slovaks protest in front of the Ukranian embassy against the violence in Ukraine on Feb. 20, 2014 in Bratislava, Slovakia.

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One of 12 bodies is carried away during deadly clashes with riot police on Maidan Square on Feb. 20, 2014 in Kiev. As of Friday, the 21st, the death toll from the clashes was somewhere around 100.

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Prayers are held in Kiev for victims who have died during the Ukrainian anti-government protests.

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Women prepare Molotov cocktails for the protesters on Feb. 20.

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Anti-government protesters rebuild barricades following continued clashes with police in Independence Square, despite a truce agreed between the Ukrainian president and opposition leaders, on Feb. 20, 2014 in Kiev, Ukraine.

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Protesters catch fire as they stand behind burning barricades during clashes with police on Feb. 20, 2014 in Kiev.

A fierce battle erupted Monday for control of the main airport in rebel-held eastern Ukraine, just hours after president-elect Petro Poroshenko vowed he would not let the country become another Somalia.

It was the most forceful action by the Kiev government in its battle to crush a bloody pro-Moscow insurgency that has raged in the industrial east since early April, threatening to tear apart the former Soviet state.

Plumes of thick black smoke rose from the airport complex as the sound of explosions and heavy gunfire rang out throughout much of the day, AFP correspondents at the scene said.

Scores of gunmen had stormed the airport in an apparent show of defiance against Poroshenko, the Ukrainian magnate who claimed a resounding victory in Sunday's presidential poll.

Ukraine's election chief confirmed Poroshenko as the president, saying his 54 percent of the vote and 41-point lead over the second-place holder were unassailable with only a tenth of the ballots left to count.

"We can now already draw a fairly important conclusion: there will be no need for a second round. On May 25, 2014, a new president was elected in Ukraine," election chief Mykhailo Okhendovskyi said.

Poroshenko has moved swiftly to stamp his authority as Ukraine's new leader, and the country's former master Moscow said Monday it was ready to work with him.

The 48-year-old billionaire and former cabinet minister said Ukraine would press on with its offensive against the insurgents who now control about a dozen cities and towns, despite Russia warning it would be a "colossal mistake."

"There are no talks with terrorists," said the centrist pro-Western tycoon known as the chocolate king for his confectionary empire.

"Their goal is to turn Donbass (east Ukraine) into Somalia. I will not let anyone do this to our state and I hope that Russia will support my approach."

Sunday's vote was seen as the most important in Ukraine's post-Soviet history as it fights to stay united after months of turmoil and avert economic collapse.

But the insurgency, which has already cost at least 150 lives, thwarted polling in much of the east and rebels have defiantly refused to recognize the result.